An End of a Certain Era

"My lovely kings! Sir Edric Valcrest wishes to see you!" Mira shouted, happily running to the throne room. They exchanged puzzled looks, unsure of what the old man wanted to tell them.

"You wished to see us." Michi was standing over the former king.
"I didn't expect you to come instantly!"
"We thought you were dying because of the injuries you suffered on the arena." Noboru sat on the bed Edric was lying in. He instantly noticed Lyria next them and moved a little bit to the side of the bed, making sure she can't reach him.
"Rest easy, I swore my father I won't do anything stupid" she said, crossing her arms. Isao looked at her, looking nothing like the girl he fought on the arena. Her hair was the same—long, pink, and neatly styled. She was dressed in red, elegant dress. The kind you would wear on a special occasion. The golden ornaments on her bodice suggested that the dress might cost more than all of their outfits together. Her arms and back were covered by a black military cape, with symbols suggesting she was a captain in the fifth company.

"Princess Lyria... If I may..." he started.
"There's no bad blood between us, master Matsuoka" she replied.
"That's not what I wanted to say. Your dress... it's beautiful, you know. But that cape..." he stopped when he noticed Lyria's death stare.
"My apologies, my lady" he said bowing to her.
"No need for such formalities now, boys. I am no longer a king. You won fair and square" the king started slowly getting up.
"I think that was more about self-preservation than respect" Noboru noticed Lyria's facial expression after Isao insulted her style. The king got out of his bed, fixing his bandage covering the amputated arm.
"I invited you here as I wanted to be honest with you. My daughter already heard this but I'm happy to say this again. When the four of you appeared in front of me for the first time I had no idea what to do with you. According to the legends, there was only one hero each time. With one, I knew what to do, but with four? That's a different story. When you told me what you were capable of I felt that you would be able to fix this dying kingdom. I forsaw that one day you would come and challenge me for the throne but I never expected it to happen on your second day here."
He was right. Looking back, their decision had been rather sudden and desperate.
"But I hold no grudge against you for winning or maiming me. I agreed on it and brought my strongest champions to test your strength. You turned out to... exceed my expectations and it was selfish of me to let the archmage Lucian and our arena champion, whatever his name was, die in vain. When I realized you were willing to kill my daughter I forfeit. I felt insulted when I saw that you weren't taking advantage of the mistakes I was doing during our duel, but I suppose there was some logic behind it. Right, Grand General?"
"Yes. I see you've figured out our plan. Our goal was to force you to surrender, and for that, we needed you alive. If I'd killed you during our fight, there was no guarantee that Noboru would defeat Lucian. And if Noboru had fallen as well, we'd have lost our only chance to end the duel on our terms. That's why I had to keep you occupied long enough for Noboru to finish his fight. Lyria, we never intended to kill you. Isao's job was to keep you occupied and prevent you from interfering. We intended to kill the champion and the archmage, leaving your father with fewer options. Once you were in danger, we hoped he'd choose to surrender rather than risk losing you too." Ayumu explained most of the situation.
"Yet you risked severing my arm."
"Yes, but if I hadn't done that I would certainly have died in that duel. I almost paid for it with my life. In the end, this duel also almost cost me my leg" he smiled, showing his walking cane.
"So master Matsuoka..." she looked at Isao.
"I wanted to avoid harming you at all cost. And please, it's Isao to you."
"I see. Well, anyway, I'm not going to pursue the throne, but if you ever have need of me, please, let me know. I'd like to remain a servant of Dohala, even if it wasn't the king role."
"Noted. I suppose we'll be in touch, then." Ayumu smiled at Edric, apparently pleased with his answer

"What's your plan now?" Michi asked Ayumu, clearly meaning the conflict with the elves. It was already getting dark as they walked back to the palace. They tried admiring the city at night, but there was little worth admiring beyond the palace. Dirty streets, beggars sleeping in the alleys between the houses. an occasional streetlamp cast a faint light onto the road. People they were passing by bowed respectfully as they passed, but none of them seemed to care, visibly busy with their own thoughts.
"While you were still recovering we've taken certain steps towards preparing for the war. Isao worked on the armor and equipment while I tried to clean the mess in the hierarchy of the army. We have the basics coverred for now, but according to Mira's reports the elves outnumber us. Due to their warmongering lifestyle their soldiers are also more experienced than ours are. I'm almost done assembling a special forces team but that's the most I can do. The rest is up to our soldiers. The plus is, that everyone knows we made a Special Forces Unit so they're working their asses off to become one of the legends. As of today, some of them were given missions to get rid of some political enemies. Hell, some of them even got themselves some nicknames and the unit itself gained a name" Ayumu explained their situation.
"What's the name?" Isao asked.
"Elevens. We have ten companies in the kingdom, I know the naming and structure of the army here is fucked but I'm not in the mood to change that, and the soldiers decided that our SFU is something like the eleventh company."
"I see." Michi didn't say much. He was deeply concerned if they could actually survive the war. While he was in the hospital he was reading through the financial reports of the kingdom and realized how bad the situation was. The king himself didn't look corrupted, but the prime minister had to be. Too many reports contained discrepancies for it to be simply some gold lost somewhere along the way.

Five days later, the second company was already patrolling the border. They had been stationed there for some time, but today one of the Elevens arrived. There were rumours that the kings assigned more of them to monitor the second company in hiding. Each company consisted of ten divisions, each division contained ten units, and each unit had ten soldiers, bringing the total to one thousand men per company. The moon hung high in the sky, bathing the road in pale light, while the seventh unit of the second division was patrolling the road.
"Keep your guard up, soldiers! We are on the border and the enemy may try to set an ambush for us," the unit leader shouted. Everyone observed the bushes at the edge of the forest, hoping they wouldn't encounter any elves. Everyone heard what happened in the throne room, so they were all aware of the danger. Every soldier, including their commanders, felt nervous.
When they were heading for the camp, distant shouts could be heard.
"That's from the camp! Hurry up!" The unit leader waved his hand and ran towards the camp.
Upon arrival, they saw their tents burning and the rest of their division forming a line, trying to push the elves back.
"Join their ranks! Form the line and push them back!" The seventh team leader rushed to the scene, pointing his soldiers to join the formation. Among the seventh unit was a young soldier Cicero. It was his first assignment, and the first time he had to fight for his life. He rushed to the line and joined the formation.
"What happened?" he asked the soldier standing next to him, a member of the fourth unit who was present at the camp the whole night.
"Turns out the Sovereign was right! The Elves were onto something and they would try something tonight!" he answered shouting, trying to fend off the attackers.
"The Sovereign?"
"One of the Elevens! Fight, goddamn it!" The line was slowly taking steps back, under the pressure of the elven berserkers. Cicero was mainly defending, using the small shield he had. Screams of his friends and roars of the enemy echoed in his head. He felt something bouncing back off his right arm. He turned right and saw the same soldier he was just talking to. His lifeless eyes remained open, as though he were staring at Cicero. Cicero froze in panic, seeing a dead body for the first time in his life. The soldier's chest was cut open, and only his facial expression could show how agonizing his final moments must have been. Cicero fell on the ground, pushed by one of the attackers. His father trained him until the last days of his life, but he never prepared Cicero for something like this.
The line started falling back as Dohalans were losing more and more soldiers. Cicero tried getting up, but the thought of dying that night couldn't let him move.
"Make way! Make way!" he heard.
"They are here! Make way for the Harbinger!" Cicero turned around and saw a tall, fully armed knight. His armor shined silver in the moonlight, covering every inch of the soldier's body. All he knew about Harbinger was that he was one of the Elevens and served in the first company. They crossed paths already in the past few days, but never showed his face. Harbinger, equipped with a huge shield and a sword, walked slowly towards the enemy. His movements were deliberate and almost regal, as though the battlefield belonged to him. He was at least a head taller than the rest of the soldiers. One of the elves jumped in front of him, breaking the Dohalan defence. The harbinger swang his sword, smashing the elven shield and wounding him severely. The elf fell on the ground under the force of the hit, close to Cicero. He grabbed his chest in pain, trying to get up. Unfortunately for him, the Harbinger was already standing over him, dropping the enormous shield, sharpened on the bottom edge, right on his neck. The severed head rolled to Cicero's feet.
A woman's manic laughter echoed throughout the whole camp. A dark figure pierced the sky, landing right in front of the elves.
"What's that, darlings? Are you afraid to fight me?" She laughed maniacally, making the clashing iron a silent whisper in the wind. Five spectral blades materialized behind her back. She jumped in the middle of the enemy formation, spinning the blades in a circle around her, controlling them with magic.
"Fear the Dohalan wrath!" she shouted and leaned back, looking at the moon with her arms outstretched.
"The Puppeteer..." someone whispered in the crowd. Cicero heard about her, but never saw her in person. He heard from his friends that she used to be a captain of the third company before joining the Elevens. He knew that the Elevens were an elite team, but he would have never suspected how much of a terror they could cause.
Small drops started flying up from the pool of blood made by the Puppeteer. The blood drops stopped at the height of a regular human's eyes. More and more drops started levitating, and soon the whole pool of blood started forming a bloody, human shape. The figure transformed into a pale-skinned human with long, white hair. Dressed in all red, he descended on the ground.
"It's always fun to have you around, Vampire!" The Puppeteer smiled. An elf charged at him, only to freeze in place about two meters from the Vampire. Valdemar tilted his head, studying the elf with genuine disappointment. A faint, almost amused smile appeared on his face.
"Rudimentary creature of blood and flesh... You truly believe you can harm me when the very blood in your veins obeys my will?" He walked closer to the elf, reaching out his hand. A dim, red light started flowing from the elf's chest toward the Vampire's hand. His body started aging unimaginably fast, only to dry and decay in a matter of seconds. Upon seeing this, the remaining elves started fleeing the battlefield.
"You're not going anywhere" the Vampire snarled and engaged the pursuit.

After the Elevens had dealt with the remaining elves, they started helping the remaining soldiers of the division.
"How many dead?" the Vampire asked.
"Eighty-seven, my lord" division commander replied.
"Burn their bodies, there is no time for proper burial. The enemy could be back any second. Take what you can and regroup with another division" he continued.
"Frank!" The puppeteer shouted.
"What do you want now, Mira?" The Sovereign approached Cicero, who was still sitting on the ground, showing no concern whatsoever about Mira's words.
"We'll be heading off soon, the Grand General wants to speak with our unit, remember?"
"Thanks for the reminder, I'll put it in my 'top ten hints I was ever given' book. Get up, soldier!" he shouted at Cicero.
"The people I served with... my whole unit..." he was visibly shaken.
"Try to stand up, kid. There is nothing more you can do. You survived, that alone is a miracle. Not everyone can be saved" the Vampire reached out his hand to Cicero. The young soldier grabbed it and slowly stood up.
"You'll mourn them when the war is over. Otherwise, we will have to mourn you" Frank turned around and joined Mira on the hill behind the camp, where the second company put one of their teleportation stones.
"He's... kind of right. You should focus on yourself now. Losing your friends or family can scar you, but going forward and living on, remembering the best memories you shared with them is the best you can do for them now. The sight of blood and death? Eventually, you'll get used to it. It's neither pleasant nor easy, but that's the reality of war." The Vampire patted Cicero's back and joined the rest of his team. Mira put her hand on the teleportation stone and a bright, blue circle appeared underneath them. A bright white light flashed around them for a second. Once it disappeared, the Elevens were already gone.

"Come on Michi, you'll see what I managed to assemble. You'll connect the faces with the dossiers you took." Ayumu was walking down the corridor, towards the throne room.
"I hope they are worth all the money we're pouring into them, I still haven't confronted the prime minister about the missing money!" Michi was trying to catch up with Ayumu. Since the Grand General no longer used his walking cane, Michi could barely keep up with him.

They all gathered in the throne room. Each of the elite soldiers had their own background and reason to be picked. In the middle was the tallest and biggest of them all. The Harbinger. Beside his massive shield lay the armor plates that normally covered his missing left arm.
"I see you prefer the natural version of yourself when you're not on the battlefield, eh?" Michi asked smiling.
"It simply feels more like me." The former king smiled back.
Ayumu sat down on his throne, checking if everyone was present. 
"Edric?"
"Here, boss!" Edric Valcrest - The Harbinger. He always walked first, foreshadowing the arrival of the 'Elevens', assuming control over the battlefield. Some considered him as a sign of victory, and some as a sign of a bloodbath. Member of the first company.
"Kaia?"
"Here's Kaia!" The Feral Cat. As lethal as she was cute, her presence always meant problems. One of the last of cat people, she always spoke about herself in the third person. Because of it, she seemed rather cute to most people, but getting on her nerves meant instant death. She spent hundreds of years on the battlefield before joining the Dohalan army. An experienced warlord. And, unfortunately for everyone involved, Ayumu's wet dream. Also, a member of the second company.
"Mira?"
"Here!" Ichinose Mira - The Puppeteer. The last descendant of the last hero summoned over six hundred years earlier. The best manipulator in this kingdom and an excellent spy. As a hobby she was tracking down factions opposing the current kings, manipulating them into clashing with each other, only to show up and finish off whoever survived. Former captain of the third company.
"Val?"
"At your service" Valdemar Crux — The Vampire. The last warrior-mage of the Hemomancers, an honorable order of mages capable of manipulating their enemies' blood. A school of magic that not even Noboru was able to fully understand. Able to suck the life essence out of his target, Val was considered the deadliest of them all. Despite his powers, he had no intention in harming civilians - it was against his code. In fact, he was beloved by the children in Dohala, he spent most of his time in the poorest districts in the capital, helping the sick. According to the records, he was two thousand and five years old, having achieved immortality through an ancient magical ritual. Michi read the report again, struggling to believe that the handsome young man standing before him was actually that old. Former captain of the mage unit in the fourth company.
"Lyria?"
"Here!" Lyria Valcrest - The Valkyrie. A nickname given to her by Isao after their fight on the arena. She reminded him of the legendary Valkyries from Norse mythology. Master of the sword, able to imbue her blade with almost any spell. Daughter of the former king, former captain of the fifth company.
"Frank?"
"Yaaaay..." Frank - The Sovereign. A cold, calculating man who regarded morality as little more than a social construct designed to maintain order. He proved many times that there was nothing that could stop him from carrying out an order given to him. Whenever the Elevens acted together, he was first on the scene, preparing the front for Harbinger. He only needed a few minutes on the battlefield to start acting like he owned it. Door guard in the palace and a sergeant in the sixth company.
"Fera?"
"Reporting for duty!"Fera - Mother of the Night/Mother of the Wolves. Leader of the wolf people. When her kingdom fell, she joined Edric's grandfather and arrived in Dohala with her companions. She helped build the kingdom's largest port, which was later named in her honor. A master of camouflage and deadliest after dark, she loves Dohala for giving her a second chance. Whenever citizens hear that Lady Fera is in town, they feel safe at night - bandits and criminals threatening the order of her beloved Dohala are executed on site. Founder of the seventh company, but no longer their captain.
"Oki?"
"Ready." Oki Ragnarsson - The Bloodletter. Son of the former Shakan Emperor, exiled from his homeland for practicing magic. He wields an enormous scythe, a cursed artifact rumored to contain a demon. On the battlefield, wearing Shakan armor is reason enough for him to kill. Member of the rapid response unit of eighth company.
"Elias?"
"At your service, my liege." Elias al Khasid - The Silencer. A member of an ancient brotherhood of assassins, trained from childhood to become a professional killer. A master of disguise, he can blend into almost any crowd. Willing to risk everything to complete a mission, he frequently operates behind enemy lines alongside Mira. Although countless assassinations had been attributed to him, none had ever been officially linked to his name. Commander of the assassin's unit in ninth company.
"Celene?"
"Yes, sir!" Celene Arkwright - The Judge. Member of the house Arkwright who came here with the house Valcrest. Famous for executing her captain in tenth company when she was an ensign. Dohalan forces discovered her Commanding Officer Viktor Parcel was feeding Dodan Empire information about their military strength and positions. Upon arrival in his office, Dohalan officers saw Celene holding Viktor's severed head. Currently serving as the commander of the secret police unit attached to the Tenth Company, operating within the army ranks.
"Well, Michi, what do you think?" Ayumu asked.